Ireland introduces €600 residential battery grant

Ireland has approved a new energy grants package aimed at homes and businesses effective from Oct. 6. It includes enhanced solar supports as well as home heating decarbonization and retrofitting. Residential battery grants worth up to €600 are also being introduced.

Ireland already has a state-administered grant for homeowners worth up to €1,800 to avail of solar panels for their homes. From Oct. 6, this will be expanded to include newer homes built and occupied before 2025.

Grants of up to €9,000 for lower-income householders to install solar and batteries will also be introduced, while people classed as medically vulnerable will have their battery and solar systems fully funded. In both cases, the maximum battery capacity funded will be 5 kWh and the maximum PV capacity will be 4 kW.

There will be a €2,000 grant encouraging people to scrap their boilers and install heat pumps.

Solar Ireland, the organization representing the country’s solar sector, welcomed the introduction of the residential battery grant.

“We have long called for the reintroduction of support for residential battery storage,” said CEO Ronan Power. “Batteries allow households to make better use of the solar electricity they generate, reduce reliance on the grid during peak periods and provide greater protection from future energy price volatility.”

In addition to residential support, the package also includes businesses. The government claims businesses availing of expanded solar support could reduce annual energy costs by up to €300,000. Solar thermal and heat pump grants could also offer big savings.

“Businesses across Ireland are facing significant challenges from high energy costs, and we know that improving competitiveness means helping firms reduce their overheads wherever possible,” said Irish Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke.

William Walsh, CEO of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, the state-run administrator of these grants, said the agency has seen a 200% jump in the number of applications for some grants.

“We’ve had unprecedented demand to our programs this year … These new measures are really welcome and will help us reach even more people next year, especially those most in need.”

These updates are being introduced ahead of the Irish government’s 2027 budget which will be announced in the coming weeks. Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien said further measures will be considered as part of next year’s budget.

“The government has already introduced more than €1.4 billion in energy affordability measures since March,” he said.